Sensory Overload
by thepointwoman13
Summary: The romance part of this story is focused on Arthur and it's about how he falls in love with the most skilled extractor, Lyrica. This story mainly focuses on the action aspects for the first few chapters, then the romance part later on.
1. Chapter 1

Sensory Overload

My feet pounded against the sidewalk as I bolted with all my strength down the street. They were getting closer, I could feel it. I could even _hear_ it above my heavy breathing. _Boom, boom, boom, boom._ My heart beat even faster, slamming itself against my chest as the cold wind whipped through my long hair. Reaching into my coat pocket, I pulled out my handgun and glanced behind me, aiming it at the closest chaser.

"Stop!" one of the 2 men yelled after me. He was dangerously close and it was time to take action. I pulled the trigger and a bullet shot out, piercing him straight in the chest. _Bull's-eye._ With a thud, he fell to the ground, leaving his lagging partner to pick up his pace. Now, it was time to take him out, too. Without giving it a second thought, I shot again and down he went. Quickly, I darted into an empty, dark alley, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. This was almost too easy.

"Perfect," I curled my lips into a devious smirk as I ripped open the envelope. It was too late for him now. My mind soaked in every bit of information on the sheet and I grinned even more. Oh boy, was Copal going to be pleased.

"Ah!" Suddenly, I shrieked as something grabbed my shoulder and lurched me forward back onto the sidewalk. Still, I gripped onto the documents as I stumbled forward.

"Give me the papers, Lyrica," a deep voice boomed as I felt a gun thrust onto my lower back. I was forced to the ground and I groaned as the pavement scraped my cheek. Warm blood trickled down the side of my face and my arms were bruised.

"Don't you know it's rude to hit a girl?" there was an edge in my voice and he dug the rifle deeper into my skin. Pain is all in the mind, I kept reminding myself.

"It's different when it comes to you. Give up now while you can." My gun was reaching distance away and I knew with one swift movement, I'd be able to grab it.

"You know I'm not afraid of you, Sean," angrily, I narrowed my eyes as he circled around my tense body.

"_That's_ your problem. You should feel fear." I heard the click of the gun as he readied to fire.

"Why should I?" I knew my questions would help distract him, giving me enough time to keep repeating the words on the documents over and over again in my head.

"Because you have no one here to save you." His voice was sinister and he gave me an evil chuckle.

"What makes you think I can't handle myself?" I could've easily taken him off guard here by twisting around and kicking his gun off of me, but there was no point. I had _all _the information I needed.

"Various reasons." Then a sharp pain flooded over me as he fired a bullet into my back. I could feel the blood pouring out of me, but then my eyes fluttered open.

Now, I was where I belonged: in the back of the taxi with Sean sitting next to me. As fast as I could, I pulled the needle out of him and stuffed it, along with mine, back in the metal case. Snapping it shut, I grabbed it off the taxi floor and placed it in my lap.

"It's all yours," I threw a wad of money rolled into a rubber band at the driver and he gave me a quick nod. Just to be sure he was still asleep, I glanced at Sean one last time, then jumped out of the cab, making my way down the bustling street in Paris. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out a pad of paper and pen, writing down every detail of information I had gotten from Sean's "business plan".

Several blocks down was a small building, an apartment converted into a small business meeting complex. I made my way up the steps, my high heels clicking hard against the cement, until I reached the door. Grasping the rusty handle, I opened the door and walked inside and heard the voices of my bosses drifting over from the conference room.

"Ah, Lyrica, you're back," Mr. Harwell stood up, acknowledging my presence as I walked into the kitchen. Shaking his hand, I sat down across the table with him and the vice president, Mr. Manning. The two men were almost identical with their short, black hair and tall frame. The only differences between them are Harwell's far more rotund compared to Manning and he's British.

"How did it go?" Manning questioned as he took a sip of his black coffee. After pulling my layered, onyx hair up into a ponytail, I leaned forward on my elbows.

"I got it." 3 simple words that sent him into a frenzy. He didn't believe in me, but Harwell and I did. After all, he says I'm the most powerful extractor they've ever hired.

"Impossible," gasping, Manning folded his arms across his chest. "I don't believe it."

"Read it and weep," I dug out the paper I had taken notes down on and slid it across the table to him. Manning picked it up and gawked, surprised that I had actually done it.

"Amazing."

"She's our best Extractor," Harwell gave me an approving smile and I returned one back. "She never cracks under pain or pressure."

"I can see that since Sean is the most difficult person to extract from," with his eyebrows raised, Manning stood up from the table and his chair screeched like fingernails on a blackboard against the ancient wooden floor. "Well done, Lyrica. You passed your yearly exam, so I suppose that means you get to keep your job." After a handshake, he handed me my report and left. Gosh, did it feel good to hold that perfectly scored piece of paper between my fingers. Without this, I wouldn't be able to work for Copal or get into their main headquarters in New York.

"That had to be tough," Harwell stated as soon as Manning closed the door.

"You have no idea," sighing, I ran a hand over my face. "If that was a real client's request, I probably wouldn't have made it."

"You're just being modest," he smirked at me and I winked back in return. "You had the teachings of Dom Cobb, his father, and Copal's most prestigious subconscious defense team. Howver, I _am _curious to know what happened," intrigued, he asked me in his thick British accent.

"I had to fight off at least 30 subconscious defense personnels just to get into the building, then another dozen to get to the room. After that, I had to break into the safe, steal the documents which set off an alarm, and dodge Sean and his 2 psychotic bodyguards," by the time my rambling had finished, I was nearly out of breath.

"That doesn't sound too bad…"

"That's just ¼ of the story. I'd rather not retell everything," sighing, I buried my face into the palms of my hands, purely exhausted.

"I'm proud of you, Lyrica." I looked up and he gave me another approving nod. I really must be his best employee considering he _never _says that to anyone.

"Thank you, Mr. Harwell. I appreciate your kindness, but I must be heading out now," sticking the document into my purse, I slung my bag over my shoulder and stood up. As much as I'd love getting more complements, my body was screaming it was time for me to go home. "Have a good afternoon."

Beyond tired, I made my way back to my apartment. It was definitely a relief knowing my renewing test was finally over and done with, so I could focus on finding more business. People from all over the world had been calling me before my test to go into people's minds and steal ideas for them, but for now, all I wanted was to plop down in front of the T.V., eat some lunch, and take a nap: something I rarely get to do. Maybe I'd watch a movie on TNT and heat up some pasta leftovers from dinner last night...wow, did that sound like bliss. Add a nap on top of that and it'd be like heaven! Then, I felt my purse vibrating and I knew that my relaxing afternoon would have to be put on hold…especially when the caller ID read:

Dom Cobb.


	2. Chapter 2

"It's been a while," pulling down the hem of my purple tank top, I stated into the receiver. The sun was shining and the air was warm as it surrounded my bare shoulders. Goosebumps shivered down my arms and I smiled to myself.

"I know," Cobb's deep voice mumbled back. I could hear people talking in the background and I assumed it was probably just his Point-man Arthur. It'd been a while since the last time I'd helped the both of them with an extraction and it's not like they just call me to see what's going on.

"How've you been?" finally, I had arrived outside of my flat and I reached into my purse, digging out my keys. I heard them rattle deep in the depths of white fabric and I struggled trying to retrieve them with one hand.

"Well. And yourself?" Fumbling, I stuck the key into the hole and turned. The door screeched a ghastly noise as I pushed it open; the rust encrusting the hinges were eating away every last bit of silver and I noted that was something I needed to add onto my "to do" list.

"Alright," I dropped my bag onto the little side table sitting next to the door. Even though we hadn't seen or talked to each other in a year, I knew he was calling me for business reasons. "Listen, Cobb. You never call me spontaneously, so there's no need to make small talk," my tone was accusatory. "You and Arthur need my help, don't you?"

There was a long, eerie pause.

"Yes, we do. Well, Arthur says we don't, but I know we will." Nodding my head, I used my shoulder to grasp the phone to my ear as I walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Yup, of course he needed me for something. That was when I noticed how ironic it was that Cobb had called me right after my assessment.

"Have you had your yearly exam yet?" I couldn't help but ask. Even though he wasn't in the room with me, I felt myself narrowing my eyes. If this was what he needed help with, there was no way I would jeopardize my job to save his.

"Yes, I have."

"Alright…go on," grabbing a yogurt then closing the refrigerator, I picked up a spoon and sat down at my oak table.

"What? Did you think I was going to ask you to help me?" I could hear him smirking over the receiver and the hand around my cell phone stiffened.

"You've had me do some _crazy_ stuff for you, Cobb. I think I have the right to speculate about that."

"Lyrica," all the playfulness drained out of him and he sounded concerned as he continued. Almost bored by how long it was taking for him to get to the point, I shoved a spoonful of blueberry yogurt into my mouth. My stomach grumbled contently in response as the cold, sweet, gooey dairy slid down my throat. "She showed up."

"Who?" I asked with a voice muffled through my mouthful. There was a silence between us as I scraped up another bite and plopped it onto my eager tongue.

"Mal." _Whoa! _The name sent me into a choking fit and I immediately regretted eating now.

"Mal?" After I recovered, I gasped. "She's showing up in your Report Exams now?"

"Yes, and that's why we need your help - "

"Nuh uh, Cobb, she's _**crazy**_," shaking my head, I cut him off and took the phone from between my shoulder and ear. "I may have dealt with a lotta serious stuff, but she is one psychotic projection."

Abruptly, there was hushed arguing and I heard fingers grabbing at the phone.

"Lyrica?" Arthur's voice popped into the other end and I smiled. I know it's silly to miss the people you do jobs with, especially since you never know if you'll see them again, but Arthur is my only exception.

"Yes, Arthur?" Surprised by his sudden appearance, I asked back.

"Cobb won't admit it, but the projection is getting worse," he sounded so serious. I could just picture him standing there with Cobb's cell phone grasped tightly in his hands with white knuckles.

"It sounds like it if she's showing up in important dreams."

"Exactly. We need your help."

"I thought Cobb just told me you didn't think you needed my help?" Smirking, I threw my empty yogurt cup in the trash, lightly kicking the cupboard shut.

"I changed my mind," he huffed in frustration that I'd caught him.

"Sometimes everyone could use a little help...especially when it comes to getting rid of Mal's projection."

After a few seconds of contemplating, I ran a hand over my face and let out a deep sigh. Looks like I was gonna have to help them do their job _again_.

"You know, I was going to have a relaxing afternoon, but I guess my plans have changed." Arthur chuckled ever so slightly as I let out a long breath. "Where do you want me to meet you guys?"

"You're in Paris, right?" I nodded and agreed verbally. "Come to the workshop."

Hanging up the phone, I grabbed my bag again and headed out the door. What was it gonna be this time? A small investment owner? A lawyer? A schizophrenic? What Copal needed from him, I had no idea...but _boy_, was that guy fun. All I could do was hope that this client would be just as interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

My mind ached as I walked down the nearly empty sidewalk to the Warehouse. The throbbing hammering against the back of my skull wouldn't go away and it could definitely put a massive migraine to shame. It'd been a while since the last time I'd had one of these and experiencing it again reminded me of back when Cobb's father-in-law taught me all about going into dreams. I'd get them on a daily basis from all the hard work and when I'd leave his sessions, I would feel satisfied knowing I'd done a job well done.

The old building was finally in sight and I picked up my pace as I hustled across the street. As I rubbed my left temple, I grasped the half gone door handle with my free hand and let myself in. My 2 inch tall, black peep-toe business shoes clacked against the concrete floor as I made my way up the stairs to the rusty door at the top landing. After dusting the grime from the street off my slacks and readjusting my lavender tank, I opened the door to the Warehouse meeting room.

"You're here," at the sound of the door handle's click, Cobb turned around from talking to Arthur and briskly walked over to me. I stood there by the exit holding onto the strap of my cream colored crossover that was slanted across my chest.

"Missed me?" Smirking, I shook his hand once he stopped dead in front of me and we locked eyes. His blue irises glimmered with hope and I wondered if he could see what I was feeling, too…if he could look past the horrendous coal-colored bags underneath mine.

"Of course," his grip grew firmer and I tightened mine in response, even though his hand was crushing my bone to powder. Never show any signs of weakness: a typical Dom Cobb quote.

"It's always good to see you, Lyrica," Secretly, I breathed a sigh of relief as Arthur strode over and I let go of Cobb's hand-shake-of-death to be welcomed by the point-man. Gently, he held my hand and kissed the top of it. _Suck up._ I had to hold myself back from rolling my eyes. Ever since when I become Copal's most sought after and talented Extractor, it's hard to tell when people are being genuine and when they're just kissing up.

Pushing that thought aside, it felt good to see him and Cobb again, even though I felt like we were all on business only terms. We have common personalities; it's just a shame we rarely get the chance to talk about stuff other than extraction.

_So how'd it go today?_

_Well. I got all the information. How'd your extraction go?_

_We almost got it…we lost it at the last second though._

_I see…what happened?_

_We woke up too soon._

You have no idea how dry that gets. It's the same structure and the same concept over and over again and it's not just exchanged with Cobb and Arthur…that's all that's said to every single general extractor! Sometimes, I wish we could all just talk like we're human beings without gifts.

"So, how have you guys been?" I smiled at the pair as we walked back to the center of the room. Everything was so messy and disorganized: the desks were littered with stacks of papers, the briefcases were scattered around the floor, and the chairs were toppled over. "Seems like a tornado's been through this place."

"We were doing some practice dreams," Arthur began, "and things got a little…messy."

"Did one of you get mad or something? This place is really torn apart," I stated while picking up one of the chairs. Tentatively, I sat down and crossed my legs as they did the same.

"Let's not discuss why the place looks like this," changing the subject, Cobb leaned forward and put on a straight face. Something about this didn't seem right. I glanced over at Arthur who had his loaded dice out and was looking at it with his head cocked to one side.

"Why not?" My eyes shifted around the room and I furred my eyebrows, trying to figure out what was so off about this place.

"It's not important. What _is_ important is that we need your help, Lyrica," Cobb's droning voice continued on as I watched the expression on Arthur's face change. He narrowed his eyes at his totem and rolled it around in his fingers like there was something wrong with it. I gave Cobb the occasional nod or "yeah", but my conscious couldn't focus on anything _but_ that totem.

I could see through the clear red plastic to the side facing Arthur that held the number of dots on it. What was wrong with it that intrigued him so much? _1, 2, 3, 4…_

"Lyrica?" my head snapped back at the sound of Cobb questioning my name. "Did you get all of that?"

_The mess in the room, the dice, the way Arthur is acting, Cobb…_I gasped as the realization hit me.

"Cobb!" jumping to my feet, I stomped over to him. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a book of matches. Angrily, I grabbed one of the wooden picks and struck it against the side. It ignited into a small, warm ginger flame that stayed stationary at the tip of the stick. Sucking in a breath, I gently blew on the flare which didn't even come close to flickering. Annoyed, I stuck the match extremely close to Cobb's face then licked my fingers and extinguished the flame.

"You have to do better than that, Cobb," I snickered. "We're dreaming, aren't we, Arthur?"

"Yes," looking up from his dice, he agreed. "How did you do that, Cobb?"

"He probably stuck the serum in us when we weren't paying attention," throwing the still perfect match back into the box, I walked back to my seat and folded my arms. "So where am I then? Am I _really _in the Warehouse?"

"Of course. You're right though, Lyrica; I put you both under when you weren't expecting it," Cobb explained. "Which was right when you walked through the door."

"And why did you do this?"

"It was a simple test," shrugging, he leaned back in his chair. "And clearly, you passed. I'm surprised you didn't catch it sooner than her, Arthur," he shifted his gaze over to his point-man, who still sat there bewildered.

"I had a feeling we weren't in the Warehouse, but you replicated it so well," shaking his head, Arthur crossed his arms. "I don't know how you do it, Cobb," impressed, he smirked at him.

"In all honesty, I thought you were trying to trick me," I chuckled. "How long did you set the timer for?" curious and interested by the whole situation, I asked Cobb.

"Just a few minutes. We should be out of here soon so we can _really_ talk about the business plan." We sat there in silence for a few seconds as we realized we were all in a dream together for the first time in about a year.

"Does this mean I'm still qualified for your job offering, Mr. Cobb?" the last image the two of them saw was me sitting there with a satisfied grin slapped across my face. I know, I can be a little cocky sometimes. The next thing I knew, I felt my cheek against the cold, firm concrete floor and my hands pressing against it as I slowly pushed myself up. We were sitting by the door to the stairs and I pulled out my matches again. This time, the flame ate away the wood and I blew it away before it could reach my fingers.

"So, what do you guys need me for this time?"


	4. Chapter 4

"It's not going to be easy, Lyrica," Cobb stated after we had moved ourselves over to the chairs and were satting in a triangular formation. The room was clean and tidy unlike the room in the dream which was a hot mess.

"I know it's not gonna be a walk in the park," rolling my eyes at him, I leaned my elbows forward onto my thighs. Sleepily, I cupped my chin in my hands and tried my best to not fall asleep. "But it sounds like a pretty quick job."

"That is if Mr. Saito is willing to comply," Arthur interjected while folding his arms across his chest. Silently, I laughed at how suave he tried to look in his big-shot "suit" and semi-gelled hair. "Nash says he's not the friendliest guy out there."

"And Nash's done all his research?" Still, no matter how hard I fought it, my eyelids were slowly drooping closed. Because of all the Windows, we were almost surrounded in total darkness except for the little lamp on the desk providing us with poor light. I couldn't help myself as I glanced down at my watch and quietly groaned when it read 1:30am.

"Yes," nodding, Cobb picked up a stack of papers from the table next to him and placed them in his lap. "This pile holds every ounce of information about him." Man, that was one _huge_ mountain of research.

"Let me guess: you want me to read it all?"

"No, we want you to memorize it."

At first, I thought Arthur was just using dry sarcasm and I started laughing. When I realized nobody else was, I awkwardly stopped and gaped at them with wide eyes. _They had to be kidding!_

"Wait, you're _serious_? You want me to memorize everything about this guy in a few days?" Now, I was awake for sure. "That's not possible."

"It is, Lyrica," standing up, Cobb walked over to me and plopped the stack into my hands. "Try your hardest to memorize key points," suddenly, his voice dropped to a whisper, "you work better when you know your client inside and out."

It's true. I've done a lotta work for Cobb in the past and I had used all of Nash's research to really get to know whose mind we were going into. Since I knew everything about them, I could manipulate the client's mind so we could extract more easily. Just because this guy has more information about him doesn't mean I shouldn't really get to know him.

With a frustrated sigh, I stood up and grabbed my purse off the floor, nearly toppling over from the weight of the papers. "Alright, boys. It's late so I'm heading out. I'll be sure to, uh, memorize this," I motioned with my head to the stack clutched in between my hands.

"Good to work with you again, Lyrica," standing, Cobb nodded at me and I smiled groggily back at him.

"That's not as much as it seems," Arthur gestured to the papers. "All you need to know are the main points."

"Well, it sure does _feel _like a lot," I began to make my way to the door on the other side of the room and they both walked next to me.

"Don't worry about it. Remember, come here in 4 days and we'll all fly out to Tokyo together. Think you'll be able to manage it all by Tuesday?" Arthur asked as we stopped in front of the door.

"Absolutely," nodding, I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. "It was nice visiting you two again. I'll see you on Tuesday."

Quickly, I closed the door behind me and tried to balance myself as I made my way down the stairs. If this all had to be memorized by Tuesday, there was no way I would be getting much sleep tonight. I walked briskly back to my apartment and when I was in my room, I tossed the heap onto my desk, turned on the small lamp, and sat down in the creaky chair.

"Where to start?" I yawned to myself as I flipped through the papers. Underneath the first few, I came across a picture of a man. He was tall with black hair, dark brown eyes, a little bit of facial hair, and wearing a business suit. Right away, I knew this was the guy we were tapping into and I set the photo aside in a separate pile for the more important information.

Then, there was an article under that with the title: FISCHER: ONE AWAY FROM ENERGY DOMINATION. Beneath that was a picture of the same man and a caption with his name, Saito, printed next to it. In the black and white photo, Saito was standing perfectly straight and looking off into the distance. He was trying to hid his tension, but it was clear he was upset and distraught over the fact he was about to be out of a job.

"_Nash says he's not the friendliest guy out there"…I can see why if he's about to lose such a high position. _As I dug a little deeper into the pile, I found more information about his personality. I found articles calling him a deep thinker and a bit hot-headed, but it didn't seem like anything I hadn't worked with before.

By 3:30, I was too tired to even retain any information and decided to save the next ¾ for the next 3 days. Little did I know this man would actually figure us out, and then want something more from us.


End file.
